Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves, with more Alliance of American Football players finding NFL homes:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Thomas Duarte (AAF), T Brandon Greene (AAF), WR Rashad Ross (AAF)
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Shakir Soto (AAF)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Tyrone Holmes (AAF)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DE Karter Schult (AAF)
New York Jets
- Signed: WR/KR Valentine Holmes (International Player Pathway Program signee)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Demornay Pierson-El (AAF)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: QB Luis Perez (AAF)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DT Winston Craig (AAF), LB J.T. Jones (AAF), CB Kameron Kelly (AAF)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Keith Towbridge (AAF), QB Logan Woodside (AAF)
Washington Redskins
- Signed: G Salesi Uhatafe (AAF)
Cardinals Re-Sign DL Rodney Gunter
Rodney Gunter will be in line to remain a part of the Cardinals’ defensive line rotation, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweeting Gunter agreed to a deal to stay in Arizona.
The Packers hosted Gunter on a visit last week, but he will stick around with the Cardinals instead. Kliff Kingsbury will be the third Cardinals coach Gunter has played for since being drafted in the 2015 fourth round.
Arizona has been active in free agency, but beyond the Larry Fitzgerald pact, the Cards mostly have signed outside free agents, defensive line addition Darius Philon among them. Gunter will return as a cog in a 3-4 defense, a role he played for three years under Bruce Arians.
After spending his first three seasons in a reserve role, he appeared in all 16 games last year, making 10 starts and turning in career highs in sacks (4.5) and tackles (44). Gunter finished out with a respectable 70.1 overall score from Pro Football Focus, placing him 59th out of 112 qualified interior defenders.
The Cardinals also signed two recent AAF offensive lineman in Andrew Lauderdale and Jeremiah Poutasi, a 2015 third-round pick. Lauderdale played for the Arizona Hotshots, while Poutasi — a former Titan and Jaguar — suited up for the Salt Lake City Stallions. Poutasi has not played in a regular-season NFL game since 2016. Lauderdale has yet to play in a regular-season contest.
Chiefs To Sign Jeremiah Attaochu
The Chiefs will add another player to their edge rush mix, bringing in former Chargers and Jets pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Attaochu joins Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah as new defensive ends in Kansas City’s post-Justin Houston/Dee Ford era. While Attaochu did have some success getting to quarterbacks in San Diego, he has not lived up to his second-round billing.
Registering six sacks for the 2015 Chargers, Attaochu has notched just four since. He collected two with the Jets, before his season ended in mid-December due to injury. Injuries also limited the Georgia Tech product to just four games in 2017.
Just more than a year ago, Attaochu caught on with the 49ers via one-year deal with $2.5MM guaranteed. Attaochu’s Chiefs contract likely does not include that much guaranteed, considering the 49ers cut the edge defender after their preseason slate.
The Chiefs are transitioning from their 3-4 look, which they used for 11 seasons, to Steve Spagnuolo‘s 4-3 defense. Its edge rush figures to be further augmented in the upcoming draft, when the Chiefs hold four picks in the first three rounds. But Attaochu, 26, stands to likely supply depth for the new-look edge corps — one that already houses recent second-round picks Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/7/18
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: OL Rashaad Coward (exclusive rights free agent)
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: WR Jake Kumerow (ERFA)
Vikings To Sign QB Sean Mannion
The Vikings have agreed to sign backup quarterback Sean Mannion, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal for Mannion, tweets Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, and it’s worth up to $900K, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link).
Having lost 2018 backup Trevor Siemian to the Jets, Minnesota was searching for a signal-caller to play behind Kirk Cousins. Mannion met with the club last week, as did former Dolphins passer David Fales.
A third-round pick of the Rams in the 2015 draft, Mannion has only attempted 53 passes during his four-year NFL career. His most significant action came in Week 17 of the 2017 campaign, when he started a meaningless game against the 49ers. In Mannion’s only pro start, he completed 20 of 34 passes for 134 yards.
Mannion was replaced in Los Angeles by former Jaguars starter Blake Bortles, and hadn’t been linked to any other clubs in free agency. Despite his inexperience, Mannion is the favorite for No. 2 duties in Minnesota, although he could face competition for 2017 undrafted free agent Kyle Sloter.
Cousins has proven extremely durable throughout his career, so Mannion may not get the opportunity to see much action for the Vikings. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2015, Cousins has started 64 consecutive games.
Bengals Waive RB Mark Walton
After being arrested for the third time in three months, running back Mark Walton has been let go by the Bengals. The team announced that they’ve waived the 2018 fourth-round pick.
“It’s important for our team to get off to a fresh start as we begin the 2019 season,” said new head coach Zac Taylor. “For that reason, we felt it best if we move forward without Mark Walton. We hope his situation gets resolved, but we don’t want to take anything away from the good work that so many other players have already begun to demonstrate.”
Earlier this week, Walton was cuffed on felony charges of carrying a concealed firearm, resisting an officer without violence, possession of marijuana, and reckless driving in connection with a high-speed chase in March. ESPN’s Katherine Terrell tweets that Walton surrendered to police yesterday. This comes on the heels of two other incidents – Walton was charged with misdemeanor battery after a February skirmish, and he was also arrested for marijuana possession in January.
As our own Zach Links pointed out, Walton seems very likely to face NFL discipline for his off-the-field incidents. This would presumably limit his ability to catch on with another team, at least for the time being.
Despite injuries, Walton showed some serious promise during his collegiate career, including a sophomore season in which he scored 14 touchdowns. However, during his rookie season in Cincy, he had just 14 carries for 34 yards as he played behind Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard.
Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes (on Twitter) that the team could now be searching for some depth at the position, especially considering the fact that Bernard is set to hit free agency after next season. The reporter points to Texas A&M running back Trayveon Williams as an option. Williams had previous success with Jim Turner, who is now the Bengals’ offensive line coach. The running back is expected to be a Day 2 selection.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/5/19
We’ve got a bunch of minor moves today, with a handful of players being signed from the recently defunct AAF:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: G Kitt O’Brien, C Parker Collins (both from AAF)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: P Kasey Redfern
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OL Michael Dunn (AAF)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DB Duke Thomas, DB Derron Smith
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Alex Barrett, S Jordan Richards
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: C J.C. Hassenauer, DB Jack Tocho (both from AAF)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Damontre Moore (AAF)
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DE Andrew Ankrah (AAF)
Cowboys Extend DeMarcus Lawrence
The DeMarcus Lawrence contract drama is about to be over. We heard earlier today he was nearing a deal with the Cowboys, and now it’s more or less official.
Lawrence and the Cowboys have an agreement in place that will pay him more than $100MM over the course of a five-year extension, sources told Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport writes that they’ve “agreed on basic parameters of a deal.” Garafolo posted in a follow-up tweet that Lawrence will indeed be getting more than $20MM annually. Rapoport soon noted in a tweet that it’ll be worth $105MM total.
Just a few days ago we heard talks were at an “impasse,” so things clearly progressed quickly. Last month, Lawrence reportedly upped his asking price to $22.5MM annually, and it sounds like he got close to it. Cowboys exec Stephen Jones had previously said that Lawrence’s desire to get paid like Aaron Donald and Von Miller was holding up negotiations, and he indicated that the Cowboys wouldn’t cave from their asking price.
Lawrence might not be getting as much as the top couple of guys, but he apparently is breaking a record. Lawrence “will get the most money in Year 1 for a defensive player ever,” Garafolo tweets. The previous record, Garafolo notes, was held by Khalil Mack, who got $31MM in the first year of his deal.
It also sounds like a huge portion of Lawrence’s contract will be guaranteed. Albert Breer of SI.com chimed in a with a tweet noting the deal “will set new benchmarks for defensive players in percentage of a multi-year deal fully guaranteed, and percentage in total guarantees.” Todd Archer of ESPN.com later tweeted that $65MM of the deal will be guaranteed.
Jets Claim WR/KR Quadree Henderson Off Waivers From Giants
The Jets are taking a player off hands of their in-state rivals. New York is claiming receiver/returner Quadree Henderson off waivers from the Giants, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Giants waived Henderson on Wednesday, and he wasn’t out of a job very long. Henderson played his college ball at Pittsburgh, and signed with the Steelers last offseason as an undrafted free agent. He was waived by the Steelers at final cuts, and eventually signed to the Giants’ practice squad. He bounced between the practice squad and active reserve before his season was ended in November by a shoulder injury.
In five games, Henderson returned nine punts for 68 yards, and returned five kicks for 112 yards. The Jets just lost their returner from last year, Andre Roberts, to the Bills, so this pickup makes some sense. Roberts was an All-Pro as a returner last year, so Henderson will have big shoes to fill if he ends up winning the job. Henderson led the FBS in return yards in 2016, so he’s clearly got some potential.
Ravens To Sign WR Seth Roberts
The Ravens are signing former Raiders wide receiver Seth Roberts to a one-year deal, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Roberts became a free agent earlier this week when Oakland cut him loose. 
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Roberts was due to make a $4.45MM base salary with the Raiders in 2019 and up to $4.8MM through bonuses. However, his base pay was completely non-guaranteed, allowing the Raiders to shed the entire sum of his contract.
Roberts, 28, had 45 receptions for 494 yards and two touchdowns in 2018. In the previous year, he had similar figures with 43 catches for 455 yards and one score. Roberts has a career 11.6 yards per reception average, but he was more of a deep threat in his breakout 2015 season when he averaged 15 yards per grab.
The Ravens are still expected to target wide receivers in the draft, but the presence of Roberts may take off some of the pressure.
“One of the biggest things that we have to do is just take some at-bats and swing,” GM Eric DeCosta recently said of the team’s WR strategy in the draft. “It’s hard to be a .400 hitter if you’re only at bat twice. We’ve got to take some chances. We’ve got to find some guys that we like and try to appreciate the really good football players, the guys that make plays.”
Roberts joins a WR group that lost John Brown and Michael Crabtree this offseason. He’s just the third receiver on the roster who has actually caught a pass in the NFL, along with Willie Snead and Chris Moore.